Time recording apparatus



April 6 1926.

1,579,595 H. w. COLE ET AL TIME RECORDING APPARATUS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Nov. 28, 1923 '1 6 1926. Apr] H. w. COLE ET AL TIME RECORDING APPARATUS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Nov. 28, 1923 Invenfirs; I

and 5: GM GZZZ,

Patented Apr. 6, 1926.

- UNITED S ES PATENT Erma.-

HECTOR WILLIAM COLE AND STANLEY CHARLES MCGILL, or sourn MELBOURNE, VICTORIA, AUSTRALIA. I

' TIME-RECORDING APP ARAT US.

Application filed November 23, 1923. Serial No. 677,473.

To all whom it may concern. I

Be it known that Hno'ron VILLIAM Conn and STANLEY Cumulus hlCGrLL, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia, and residents of South Melbourne, in the State of 'v lCtOl'lit,

Commonwealth of Australia, have invented a certain new and useful Improved Time-Recording Apparatus, I of which the following is a specification. I

This invention relates to an improved time registering apparatus and has for its object the provision of such apparatus which will not only be cheaper in construction and-operation but willbe of greater utility than the time registering mechanism for employees at present in use.

The invention is adapted to be fitted to an v ordinary clock or it maybemade part of a clock, and the appparat'us of which the clock forms a part is adapted to receive to-- lrens deposited therein by workers or anyone whatsoever, the token passing along a chute pivotally or hingedly mounted, and adapted, at predetermined times in one complete movement of the minute hand around the face of the clock, to move over-the open mouths of two or more receptacles which faithfully receive the'tokens anc such'reception is respectfully synchronous with the times at which. the said tokens are deposited.

Any suitable mechanism may be fitted to the clock to cause the pivoted orhinged token directing chute or device to remain'for'a, pre determined period over the mouth ofa token receiving receptacle without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, the essential feature ofwhich consists inv combining with aiclock anda plurality tolgen receiving receptacles, a hinged or pivoted chute, adapted to receive tokens fed to the apparatus and deliver the same faithfully to the receptacle which is synchronous with the time at which the token was deposited.

A furtheressentialfeature consists in the 7 gears.

compression to automatically return I the chute to the first or outer position at the end of each hour, or part-thereof, according to the construction of the apparatus.

A further essential feature consists "in mounting a cam on the hour control spindle, or projecting from said spindle, said cam .being provided with a gradually widening surface terminating in a relatively deep step leading tothe commencing or narrow surface of said cam, the function being such that. a trip lever immediately the hour is past movesover the" gradually widening surface of the cam until the next hour is com link havinganother leverconnected thereto,

and the said latter lever being forced outwardly by the pressure of a spring, auto- ,matically moves the chute to the commencing position for delivering tokensto the firstceiving receptacle.

A further essential feature consists in mounting on the minute haiidspindle a gradually recedingstepped cam, and arranging the chute so. that a projection thereof bears against the; surface by gravity, the number ofst eps 011 the cam being limited to the number of'token receptacleaand the periods of timeinto whicli'the 'reception'of the tokens is to be divided'during the period of one hourand thechute working against the c am with a gravity contact, doesnot create any strain on the clock mechanism.

Butin orderto more readily understand the invention reference'will now be madeto the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a view showing the mechanism employed in this invention. y

c Figure 2 is a plan View showing 'mecha nism in position for effecting tokendelivery to one of the late positions.

Figure 3 is a plan view showing positions obtained when adjusting the same according to the time of starting.

Figure 4 is a: perspective view showing the delivery chute and associated parts.

Figure 5 is a" plan view of the dial for setting the starting time.

Figure 6 15a plan view of o'ne of the cam Figure 7 is a side elevation thereof, and

Figure 8 isa view in section of a modified form of device for setting the starting time.

According to this invention clock mechanism of suitable construction is fixed in its,

pleted when itdrops the step and moves a 7 i CPI entirety to thefront of a vertical support. At the lower portion and ext-ending rearwardly thereof is a chamber 5 open on one side and detachably and vertically arranged side by side in the chamber are a plurality of token receiving recptacles 6, 7 8, 9, 10, which are open at the top and occupy spaces corresponding to time periods which are aliquot parts of an hour.

These receptacles (3, 7, 8, 9, 10, are controlled by a cam 11 on the minute spindle 12, or controlled therefrom, and said cam is stepped as at 13, 14, 15, 16, to synchronize with the periods of time necessary for a hinged or pivoted swinging chute 17 arranged to receive the token from a slot 18 on the support to pass over the open mouths of said token receiving receptacles.

If necessary above the token receiving receptacles are guide plates 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, angularly disposeed and between which the tokens pass from the chute 17 to the receivers 6, 7, 8, 9, 10.

The chute 17 is hinged, pivoted or swung in any suitable way so that it is suspended and is capable of moving over the open mouths of the said receivers.

Preferably the chute 17 is formed on one face with inturned side edges 24, 25, Fig. 4 to guide the token and at the top is fitted with a pin or pintle 26 entering holes in lugs 27 fitted to the main support 34 on either side of the chute 17 and this chute is disposed immediately below the slot 18 in the cover H plate 29 of the apparatus.

The rear surface 30 of the chute 17 is provided with an inward projection 31 which moves over the path of the gradually receding and multiple stepped cam 11, the steps as 13, 14, 15, 16, and 17 on the cam 11 being the same in number as the token receiving receptacles employed.

By providing the cam 11 with a receding surface no strain is set up on the clock mechanism as the chute 17 hearing on the cam surfce moves by gravitational force only.

It will be obvious that the said cam being mounted on or controlled from the minute hand spindle, the number of steps thereon is divisible into an hour.

The cam 11 having a multiple stepped surface, and the chute 17 moving inwardly thereon, a gradual movement is maintained from one predetermined period of time to the next and as the steps 13, 14, 15, 16 and 17 on the cam 11 come opposite the projection of the chute 17, the latter moves inwardly, to the next tokenreceiving compartment in rotation and thus the registry is faithfully made of the exact time the tokens are deposited.

To automatically return the chute 17 to the outermost receptacle at the completion of each hour, the hour control spindle is fitted with a cam 32 having a gradually increasing surface and formed with teeth 32*. In contact with this surface is a trip lever 36 Fig. 2, formed with an inturned end 38 and this lever 36 is pivoted to a bracket or projection 34 on the front face of the main support 34 and near its outer end connects a link 35 which passes through said support 34' and is pivoted above the middle point of a contact lever 33, the one end 37 of which is pivoted to the main support while the other end is formed with a lip 37 adapted to contact with the rear surface ofthe chute 17, the movement of the lever 33 being governed by the movement of the lever 36.

A spring 39 is connected to the support 34 said spring being adapted to exert pressure outwardly against the contact lever 33 by means of the connecting link 35 so as to move the chute 17 .to its extreme outer position and to commence the complete receding contact movement on the cam 11 fitted to the minute spindle 12 immediately the trip lever 36 is operated at each hour by v passing the extreme width of the cam surface and moving on to the narrower surface of said cam.

As various businesses commence work at different times it is necessary therefore to set the clock so that such starting times are faithfully observed by the employees, and also perform this operation without altering the sequence of operations of the delivery chute 17.

In mesh with the teeth 32" on the cam 32 is a gear 40 formed with a housing 41, milled or otherwise prepared, to receive a milled or finely toothed roller 42.

Normally, i. e. when the clock is performing its function without interruption, as to setting the cams for starting, the disposition of the parts is as shown in Figure 2, with the clutch members 4344 together and the clutch member 45 clear of the cam 32.

The gear 40 is constantly inmesh with the teeth 32 of the cam 32, and immediately the finely milled or toothed roller 42 is drawn inwardly to the housing 41 of the gear 40 by means of the rod 46, (which forms the spindle for the gear 40 and roller 42,) and the indicator 47 turned to the desired position on the dial 48, the milled roller 40 meshing with the correspondingly milled surface of the housing 41 causes the gear 40 to turn and the cam 32 also, so that the cams move the mechanism to conform to the time indicated on the dial 4'8.

Immediately the rod 46 is pulled it sep arates the clutch members 4344 by means of the pivoted arm 44 as shown inFigure 3 and draws the clutch member 45 over to engage the cam 32.

Before the gears described can be oper-' ated, however, the pin 47 of the indicator 47 must be drawn clear of the d ial48' which is formed with a plurality of holes 48 adapted to receive the pin 47 and prevent the displacement of the indicator 17 once same has been set at a desired place on the dial 48, the roller 4-2 being thrown clear of the gear 410 by means of the spring 16 disposed on the spindle as.

The movement of the indicator 47 controls the movement of the cam 32 and cam 11, both cams 32 and 11' being complementary to each other, as the lever 36 being in contact with the cam 32, and saidlever 36 and lever 33 being pivotally connected by means of the link 35, whatever movement occurs on the lever 36, such movement is synchro nously imparted to the lever 33.

When the chute 17 reaches the maximum inner or late position, the lip 38 of the lever 36 is on the highest peak 38 of the cam 32, and the lever 33 correspondingly withdrawn so as to allow the tokens to fall via the chute 1.7 to the receptacle 10, but immediately the lip38 of the lever 36 falls into the lowest point of contact 38 of the cam 32, by. means of the spring 39, the lever 33 is automatically thrown to the maximum outer position and the tokens thrown into thechamben5 as the chute 17 has beenkicked over and is now riding on the highest portion 13 of the cam 11.

The only sudden change of position regarding the chute 17 occurs when themaximum inner position has reached the limit of its period of rest over that particular token receiving receptacleand immediately the minute spindle 12 "turns the requisite number of times, the cam 32 moves and eventually the lip38 of the cam 32 drops into the portion 38 and automatically kicks over the'lever 33 and also brings the chute 17 over to ride upon the portion 13 of the cam 1.1 to repeat the operations described;

, 62 of the hand 60 and sleeve endv63. u

The operation is such that when the lmnd the clutch members;

In order to keep the chute 17 in contact with the cam 11, balance weights 17 are provided, being fitted to the chute in any su itable' 'way.

A modified form of means for setting the cams for starting, consists of mechanism as shown in Figure 8, wherein a spindle is accommodated within a sleeve 51, the end of the spindle 50 being shaped as at 52 with a finely milled or toothed surface jadapted to enter a correspondingly shapedrecess 53 formed in the cam boss 54.

The sleeve 51 is formed with a flanged end 55 whichis seated within the boss 54 and disposed upon the sleeve 51 is a clutch member 56 adapted to engagewith a clutch member 57 also on the sleeve 51. V

Disposed on the sleeve 1 58-59, while on the spindle 50. is an indicator hand 60, with a spring 61 about the spindle 5O and-between the milled button is pressed inwardly,

are hands tary to one the face of a gradually receding cam and the 56 and 57 engage and the portion 52' of the spindle 50en'gages with'the recess 53 of the cam boss 54l,and when the indicator hand 60 is turnedthe cam 64: and'65are turned alsoto the desired position and when pres-.

sure is released from the hand 60 the springs 61 and 66 return the clutch 'members 56 and 57 to the disengaged position and allow the cams 6-1-65 to register in the manner herein described. 7

. We desire it to be understood that any suitable improvements and modifications face, the arrangement of said cams being that when the cam havlng the receding surface allows a' lever in contact therewith to move over to the maximum inner or lowest point of said cam, a token delivery chute moving on the surface of a multiplestepped cam 'ispositioned at the maximum outer or early position.

2. Time registering apparatus characterized by the use of clock mechanism and adapting the minute spindle of said clock mechanism to receive clutch members and a cam having a gradually receding surface and a cam havinga multiple stepped surface so that when a lever in contactwith said receding cam meets the maximum outer po sition of said cam, a lever kicks over a token delivery chute to the maximum outer or early position.

3. In time registering apparatus means for setting the token delivery chutein relation to the starting time, said means consisting in slidably mounting gear to av spindle carrying a. roller having a finely milled surface and forming said gear with a correspondingly milled recess, so that when said spindle ispulled outwardly, the milled roller enters the, milled recess of the gear described and also causes an arm connecting said spindle and engaging a clutch to open the members-forming said clutch, so that when an indicator on the end of said spindle is turnedsaid gear, meshing with a toothed surface formed on a cam having a gradually receding surface, turn said cam and a cam having a mult ple stepped surface, untila token delivery chute is positioned according 'to the starting time.

4. Time registering apparatus characterized by the use of levers acting complemenanother, the one lever moving on other lever being adapted to kick over a token delivery chute at predetermined times and means for effecting the synchronous action of the levers.

5. Time registering apparatus wherein a multiple stepped cam mounted co-axial with a cam having a gradually receding surface, is adapted to cause a chute to change its position from one tel-zen receiving receptacle to another.

6. Time registering apparatus comprising a casing adapted to accommodate said time recording apparatus which comprises essentially clock mechanism fitted to a vertical support, arranging between said clock mechanism and said support, clutch and cam mechanism positioned on the minute spindle of said clock mechanism, one of saidcams having a gradually receding surface, and the other cam having a multiple stepped surlace, suspending a token delivery chute adjacent the multiple stepped cam and in contact therewith, pivoting co-acting levers to the vertical support, and arranging one of the levers to move on the surface of the cam having the receding surface and connecting said lever with a lever adapted to kick over a token delivery chute, by means of a link member, providing a toothed portion on the cam having the receding sur- "face adapted to mesh with a gear formed with a recess having a finely milled surface, said gear being slid-ably disposed upon a spindle carrying an indicator at the outer end thereof and adjacent the gear described a finely milled roller adapted when said spindle is pulled outwardly to enter the recess formed in the gear described, an arm connecting said siindle and said clutch on the minute spindle, said arm being adapted to part clutch members on a minute spindle when an indicator spindle is drawn out wardly, providing token receiving receptacles below a suspended token chute, aliixing a dial on the casing surrounding the clock, suitably marking same and forming a plurality of holes therein adapted to receive a pin littcd to the inner surface of the indicator for the purposes specified.

Signed at Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, this 22nd day of September 1923.

HECTOR lVILLIAM COLE. STANLEY CHARLES MGGILL. 

